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Polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one Deity, god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, ...
peoples from many cultures have postulated a thunder deity, the creator or personification of the forces of
thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...
and
lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
; a lightning god does not have a typical depiction and will vary based on the culture. In Indo-European cultures, the thunder god is frequently depicted as male and known as the chief or King of the Gods, e.g.:
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
in
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
,
Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...
in
Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
, Zojz in
Albanian mythology Albanian paganism comprises the pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths and legends of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Ancient paganism persisted among ...
, and
Perun In Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, Perun () is the highest god of the Pantheon (religion), pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, ir ...
in ancient Slavic religion.


Mediterranean

*
Adad Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: ð’€­ð’…Ž '' DIM'', pronounced as ''AdÄd''), or IÅ¡kur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From ...
,
Bel Bel can mean: Mythology * Belenus or Bel, a Celtic deity * Bel (mythology), a title (meaning "lord" or "master") for various gods in Babylonian religion People * Bel (name) * Annabel Linquist, known as Bel, American artist, musician, and entrepr ...
, Ishkur,
Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...
( Babylonian-Assyrian mythology) *
Baʿal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods. Scholars previously associated the t ...
,
Hadad Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: ð’€­ð’…Ž '' DIM'', pronounced as ''AdÄd''), or IÅ¡kur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From ...
( Canaanite and
Phoenician mythology Sanchuniathon (; Ancient Greek: ; probably from , "Sakkun has given"), variant ''Å¡knytn'' also known as Sanchoniatho the Berytian, was a Phoenician author. His three works, originally written in the Phoenician language, survive only in partial ...
) *
I Verbti I Verbti () is an Albanian adjectival noun meaning "the blind one", which was used in northern Albanian folk beliefs to refer to the god of fire and wind in the Zadrima region, and to the thunderstorm god in Dukagjin and the Malësia e Vogël; ...
(
Albanian mythology Albanian paganism comprises the pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths and legends of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Ancient paganism persisted among ...
) *
Novensiles In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, the ''dii'' (also ''di'') ''Novensiles'' or ''Novensides'' are collective deities of obscure significance found in epigraphy, inscriptions, prayer formularies, and both ancient and Early Christia ...
(
Etruscan mythology Etruscan religion comprises a set of stories, beliefs, and religious practices of the Etruscan civilization, heavily influenced by the mythology of ancient Greece, and sharing similarities with concurrent Roman mythology and religion. As the ...
) *
Perëndi Perëndi ( sq-definite, Perëndia) is an Albanian noun for God, deity, sky and heaven. It is used capitalized to refer to the Supreme Being, and uncapitalized for "deity", "sky" and "heaven". Name Description In Albanian, ''Perëndí'' ( def ...
(
Albanian mythology Albanian paganism comprises the pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths and legends of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Ancient paganism persisted among ...
) *
Set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
(
Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...
) *
Shurdh Shurdh ( sq-definite, Shurdhi) is a name for the weather and storm god in Albanian pagan mythology. In some regions of the Albanian Alps the weather and storm god has been referred to as Rmoria or Shen Verbti; the latter is an Albanian adjectiva ...
(Albanian mythology) *
Śuri Śuri (), Latinized as , was an ancient Etruscan infernal, volcanic and solar fire god, also venerated by other Italic peoples – among them Capenates, Faliscans, Latins and Sabines – and later adopted into ancient Roman religion. He ...
(Etruscan mythology) *
Tarḫunna Tarḫunna or Tarḫuna/i was the Hittite weather god. He was also referred to as the "Weather god of Heaven" or the "Lord of the Land of Hatti". Name Tarḫunna is a cognate of the Hittite verb ''tarḫu-zi'', "to prevail, conquer, be pow ...
(
Hittite mythology Hittite mythology and Hittite religion were the religious beliefs and practices of the Hittites, who created an empire centered in Anatolia from . Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that would give ...
) *
Tarḫunz Tarḫunz (stem: ''Tarḫunt-'') was the weather god and chief god of the Luwians, a people of Bronze Age and early Iron Age Anatolia. He is closely associated with the Hittite god Tarḫunna and the Hurrian god Teshub. Name The name of the Pro ...
(
Luwian mythology Luwian religion was the religious and mythological beliefs and practices of the Luwians, an Indo-European people of Asia Minor, which is detectable from the Bronze Age until the early Roman Empire. It was strongly affected by foreign influence in ...
) *
Teshub Teshub was the Hurrians, Hurrian weather god, as well as the head of the Hurrian pantheon. The etymology of his name is uncertain, though it is agreed it can be classified as linguistically Hurrian language, Hurrian. Both Phonetics, phonetic and L ...
(
Hurrian mythology The Hurrian religion was the polytheistic religion of the Hurrians, a Bronze Age people of the Near East who chiefly inhabited the north of the Fertile Crescent. While the oldest evidence goes back to the third millennium BCE, it is best attest ...
) *
Vahagn Vahagn or Vahakn (), also known as Vahagn Vishapakagh (), is a warrior god in Armenian mythology. Scholars consider him to be either the thunder, or sun and fire god of the pre-Christian Armenian pantheon, as well as the god of war, bravery and ...
(Armenian mythology) *
Zibelthiurdos Zibelthiurdos is a Thracian god of heaven, lightning and rain, whose name is known mainly from epigraphic monuments. The only known reference to this god so far in ancient literature is in Cicero's speech against Pizon, where he is mentioned u ...
(
Thracian mythology The Thracian religion comprised the mythology, ritual practices and beliefs of the Thracians, a collection of closely related ancient Indo-European peoples who inhabited eastern and southeastern Europe and northwestern Anatolia throughout antiqui ...
) *
Zis Zis (Messapic: ðŒ†ðŒ‰ðŒ”) is a sky and lightning god in Messapian religion, occupying the most prominent role. The theonym is the equivalent and cognate of Albanian '' Zojz'' and Greek ''Zeus'', all from Proto-Indo-European '' *Di̯ḗu̯s'' ...
( Messapian mythology) * Zojz (Albanian mythology)


Greco-Roman

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Astrape and Bronte In Greek mythology, Astrape () and Bronte () are personifications of lightning and thunder, respectively. Iconographic representations On an Apulian loutrophoros dating to around 330 BC, Astrape stands beside the throne of Zeus bearing the arma ...
(
Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
) *
Fulgora The fulgorid genus ''Fulgora'' contains several large Central and South American planthoppers known by a large variety of common names including lantern fly, peanut bug, peanut-headed lanternfly, alligator bug, machaca, and jequitiranaboia (th ...
(
Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...
) *
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
,
Summanus Summanus () was the god of nocturnal thunder in ancient Roman religion, as counterposed to Jupiter, the god of diurnal (daylight) thunder. His precise nature was unclear even to Ovid. Pliny thought that he was of Etruscan origin, and one of t ...
(Roman mythology) *
Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...
(Greek mythology) *
Tempestas In ancient Roman religion, Tempestas (Latin '' tempestas'': "season, weather; bad weather; storm, tempest") is a goddess of storms or sudden weather. As with certain other nature and weather deities, the plural form Tempestates is common. Cicero, i ...
(Roman mythology) *
Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...
(Greek mythology)


Northwestern Eurasia

*
Ambisagrus In Gallo-Roman religion, Ambisagrus was a Gaulish god worshipped at Aquileia in Cisalpine Gaul, where he was identified with Jupiter (mythology), Jupiter Optimus Maximus. The name may be composed of the Proto-Celtic prefix *''ambi-'' ('around') an ...
,
Loucetios In Gallo-Roman religion, Loucetios (Latinized as Leucetius) was a Gallic god known from the Rhine-Moselle region, where he was identified with the Roman Mars. Scholars have interpreted his name to mean ‘lightning’. Mars Loucetius was worship ...
( Gaulish mythology) *
Armazi Armazi ( ka, áƒáƒ áƒ›áƒáƒ–ი) is a locale in Georgia, 4 km southwest of Mtskheta and 22 km northwest of Tbilisi. A part of historical Greater Mtskheta, it is a place where the ancient city of the same name and the original capital of the early ...
(
Georgian mythology Georgian mythology ( ka, ქáƒáƒ áƒ—ული მითáƒáƒšáƒáƒ’იáƒ, tr) refers to the mythology of pre-Christian Georgians ( /kÊŒrtˈvÉ›liÉ™nz/; Georgian: ქáƒáƒ áƒ—ველები, romanized: kartvelebi, pronounced ˆkÊ°aɾtÊ°vel ...
) * Afi ( Abkhaz mythology) * Atämshkai ( Moksha mythology) *
Gebeleizis Gebeleizis was a god worshiped by the Getae, whose name has been interpreted as a theonym for the Indo-European sky and weather god, evidently also called by the Thracians with a symilar theonym – Zibelthiurdos or Zbelsurdos.Tomashek, ''Die Alte ...
( Dacian mythology) *
Horagalles In Sámi shamanism, Horagalles, also written Hora Galles and Thora Galles and often equated with Tiermes or ''Aijeke'' (i.e. "grandfather or great grandfather"), is the thunder god. He is depicted as a wooden figure with a nail in the head and with ...
( Sami mythology) * Orko (
Basque mythology The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis o ...
) *
Perëndi Perëndi ( sq-definite, Perëndia) is an Albanian noun for God, deity, sky and heaven. It is used capitalized to refer to the Supreme Being, and uncapitalized for "deity", "sky" and "heaven". Name Description In Albanian, ''Perëndí'' ( def ...
(
Albanian mythology Albanian paganism comprises the pagan customs, beliefs, rituals, myths and legends of the Albanian people. The elements of Albanian mythology are of ancient Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of them are pagan. Ancient paganism persisted among ...
) *
PerkÅ«nas PerkÅ«nas (, , Old Prussian: ''PerkÅ«ns'', ''Perkunos'', Sudovian language, Yotvingian: ''Parkuns'', Latgalian language, Latgalian: ''PÄrkiuņs'') was the common Baltic languages, Baltic List of thunder gods, god of thunder, and the second m ...
(
Baltic mythology Baltic mythology is the body of mythology of the Baltic peoples stemming from Baltic paganism and continuing after Christianization and into Baltic folklore. History Baltic mythology ultimately stems from Proto-Indo-European mythology. The Bal ...
) * Perkwunos (
Proto-Indo-European mythology Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, speakers of the hypothesized Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested – since Proto-Ind ...
) *
Perun In Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, Perun () is the highest god of the Pantheon (religion), pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, ir ...
(
Slavic mythology Slavic paganism, Slavic mythology, or Slavic religion refer to the Religion, religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation of the Slavs, Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and ...
) *
Pikne Pikne (also ''Piken'' or ''Pikker'': the long one) is the god of lightning in Estonian mythology. In Finnish, lightning is sometimes called ''Pitkäinen'', which is similar in meaning. It is likely that both are taboo euphemisms. There was an ...
or
Pikker Pikne (also ''Piken'' or ''Pikker'': the long one) is the god of lightning in Estonian mythology. In Finnish, lightning is sometimes called ''Pitkäinen'', which is similar in meaning. It is likely that both are taboo euphemisms. There was an ...
(
Estonian mythology Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in eccle ...
) *
Sugaar In Basque mythology, Sugaar (also Sugar, Sugoi, Suarra, Maju) is the male half of a pre-Christian Basque deity associated with storms and thunder. He is normally imagined as a dragon or serpent. Unlike his female consort, Mari, there are very ...
(
Basque mythology The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis o ...
) *
Taranis Taranis (sometimes Taranus or Tanarus) is a Celtic thunder god attested in literary and epigraphic sources. The Roman poet Lucan's epic ''Pharsalia'' mentions Taranis, Esus, and Teutates as gods to whom the Gauls sacrificed humans. This rare ...
(
Pan-Celtic Pan-Celticism (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Pan-Cheilteachas'', Breton: ''Pan-Keltaidd'', Welsh: ''Pan-Geltaidd'', Cornish: ''Pan-Keltaidh'', Manx: ''Pan-Cheltaghys''), also known as Celticism or Celtic nationalism, is a political, social and cultur ...
) *
Tharapita Taara (variations of the name include Tooru, Tharapita and Tarapitha), also known as Uku or Jumal, is a prominent god in Estonian mythology, with a strong resemblance to the Finnish Ukko and the Germanic Thor. Etymology The Livonian place nam ...
or Taara (
Estonian mythology Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging to the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology. Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in eccle ...
) *
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
/Thunor/Thuner/Thunar/Donar ( Germanic/
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
) * Uacilla (
Ossetian mythology Ossetian mythology or Alan mythology () is the collective term for the beliefs and practices of the Ossetian people of the Caucasus region, which contains several gods and supernatural beings. The religion itself is believed to be of Scythian ori ...
) *
Ukko (), or ( Finnish for 'male grandparent', 'grandfather', 'old man'), parallel to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the god of the sky, weather, harvest, and thunder across Finnic paganism. , the Finnish word for thunder, is the diminutive ...
or
Perkele () is a Finnish word meaning ' evil spirit' and a popular Finnish profanity, used similarly to the English phrase '' God damn'', although it is considered much more profane. It is most likely the most internationally known Finnish curse word. ...
(
Finnish mythology Finnish mythology commonly refers of the folklore of Finnish paganism, of which a Finnish Neopaganism, modern revival is practiced by a small percentage of the Finnish people. It has many shared features with Estonian mythology, Estonian and othe ...
)


Africa

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Shango Shango (Yoruba language: Ṣàngó, also known as Changó or Xangô in Latin America; as Jakuta or Badé; and as Ṣangó in Trinidad Orisha) is an Orisha (or spirit) in Yoruba religion. Genealogically speaking, Shango is a royal ancestor of th ...
(god of thunder and lightning, Yoruba Nigeria) * Oya (goddess of hurricanes, storms, death and rebirth, consort of Shango in
Yoruba religion The Yorùbá religion (Yoruba language, Yoruba: Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), West African Orisa (Òrìṣà), or Isese (Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in pres ...
) *
Set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
(
Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...
) * Nzazi (god of thunder and lightning; master of thunder dogs in Kongo mythology) * Azaka-Tonnerre (
West African Vodun West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...
/
Haitian Vodou Haitian Vodou () is an African diasporic religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Haiti between the 16th and 19th centuries. It arose through a process of syncretism between several traditional religions of West Africa, West and ...
) * Mulungu *
Xevioso Xevioso (alternately: Xewioso, Heviosso, Hevioso) is a god of thunder of the So region in Dahomey mythology. He is the twin brother of Gun, and is one of the children of Mawu and Lisa. See also * Shango Shango (Yoruba language: Ṣàngó ...
(alternately: Xewioso, Heviosso. Thunder god of the So region .
Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in ...
mythology) *
Amadioha Amadioha is the deity or god (Arusi or Agbara) of thunder and lightning of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria. His main function is to do justice and avenge for the oppressed by striking their oppressors and their properties. But due to the ...
(Igbo, Nigeria) * Obuma (god of thunder, Ibibio-Efik Mythology, Nigeria) * Kiwanuka (god of thunder and lightning, Buganda, Uganda) *
Umvelinqangi UMvelinqangi is a Nguni Nguni may refer to: *Nguni languages *Nguni cattle *Nguni people *Nguni sheep, which divide into the Tsonga sheep, Tsonga, Ngoni (sheep), Ngoni, and Swazi sheep, Swazi types *Nguni stick-fighting * Nguni shield * Nguni hom ...
(god of thunder, earthquakes, sun and sky in
Zulu mythology Zulu traditional religion consists of the beliefs and spiritual practices of the Zulu people of southern Africa. It contains numerous deities commonly associated with animals or general classes of natural phenomena. Unkulunkulu is known to be t ...
) * Ta Kora (God of War and Strife in the Akom religion, as well as God of Thunder and lightning in the Northern Akan peoples' sect of Akom, such as the
Asante Asante may refer to: *Asante people, an ethnic group in Ghana *Asante Empire *Asante (name) *Asante dialect, a dialect of the Akan languages * Asante Kotoko S.C., a Ghanaian professional association football club *Asante (album), 1974 jazz album b ...
)


Asia


South Asia

*
Indra Indra (; ) is the Hindu god of weather, considered the king of the Deva (Hinduism), Devas and Svarga in Hinduism. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war.  volumes Indra is the m ...
(
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...
,
Hindu mythology Hindu mythology refers to the collection of myths associated with Hinduism, derived from various Hindu texts and traditions. These myths are found in sacred texts such as the Vedas, the Itihasas (the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Ramayan ...
and
Buddhist mythology The Buddhist traditions have created and maintained a vast body of mythological literature. The central myth of Buddhism revolves around the purported events of the life of the Buddha. This is told in relatively realistic terms in the earlie ...
) *
Parjanya Parjanya (, ) according to the Vedas is a deity of rain, thunder, lightning, and the one who fertilizes the earth. It is another epithet of Indra, the Vedic deity of the sky and heaven. Description It is assumed Parjanya is the udder and lightning ...
(Vedic and Hindu mythology) * Raja Indainda (
Batak mythology Batak mythology is the original belief that was once adopted by the Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia, namely before the arrival of Protestant, Catholic, or Islamic religions. There are various '' tarombo'' (ancestor myth) versions written ...
) *
Vajrapani (Sanskrit; Pali: VajirapÄṇi, 'holder of the thunderbolt', lit. meaning, "Vajra in ishand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. The personification of Indra, the King of the Devas in the Hindu order, he is t ...
(Buddhist mythology)


East Asia


Chinese

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Dianmu Dianmu (), also known as Leizi, is the Chinese goddess of lightning, who is said to have used flashing mirrors to send bolts of lightning across the sky. She is married to Leigong, the god of thunder. She is one of the gods who work together to ...
(
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
: é›»æ¯) *
Leigong Leigong () or Leishen (), is the god of thunder in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology and Taoism. In Taoism, when so ordered by heaven, Leigong punishes both earthly mortals guilty of secret crimes and evil spirits who have used their kno ...
() * Feng Lung (
Lei Gong Leigong () or Leishen (), is the god of thunder in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology and Taoism. In Taoism, when so ordered by heaven, Leigong punishes both earthly mortals guilty of secret crimes and evil spirits who have used their kn ...
, Lord of Thunder) * Kui ()


Japanese

*
Ajisukitakahikone Ajisukitakahikone (also Ajishikitakahikone or Ajisukitakahiko) is a ''kami'' in Japanese mythology. He is one of the sons of ÅŒkuninushi and the tutelary deity of Kamo. Name The god is referred to both as 'Ajisukitakahikone-no-Kami' (阿é…é‰ ...
() *
Raijin , also known as , , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder, and Storm, storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto and Buddhism, Buddhist religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions ...
() * Raitaro () * Tenman Daijizai Tenjin () *
Susanoo __FORCETOC__ Susanoo (, ; historical orthography: , ), often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto (), is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese im ...
() * Yakusanoikazuchi () *
Takemikazuchi is a deity in Japanese mythology, considered a god of thunder and a sword god. He also competed in what is considered the first sumo wrestling match recorded in history. He is otherwise known as "The ''kami'' of Kashima" (Kashima-no-kami), the ...
()


Southeast Asia


Filipino

*Kidul (Kalinga mythology)Zaide, S. M. (1999). The Philippines: A Unique Nation. All-Nations Publishing. *Ovug (Ifugao mythology) *Aninitud angachar (Ifugao mythology) *Child of Kabunian (Ibaloi mythology) *Kidu (Bugkalot mythology) *Revenador (Ilocano mythology) *
Bathala In the indigenous religion of the ancient Tagalogs, Bathalà/Maykapál was the transcendent Supreme God, the originator and ruler of the universe. He is commonly known and referred to in the modern era as Bathalà, a term or title which, in ...
(Tagalog mythology) *Kidlat (Tagalog mythology) *Gugurang (Bicolano mythology)Vibal, H. (1923). Asuang Steals Fire from Gugurang. Ethnography of The Bikol People, ii. *Linti (Bicolano mythology) *Dalodog (Bicolano mythology) *Kaptan (Bisaya mythology) *Linting Habughabug (Capiznon mythology) *Ribung Linti (Suludnon mythology) *Upu Kuyaw (Pala'wan mythology) *God of Animals (Surigaonon mythology)Esteban, R. C., Casanova, A. R., Esteban, I. C. (2011). Folktales of Southern Philippines. Anvil Publishing. *Diwata Magbabaya/Bathala (Subanon mythology) *Anit/Anitan (Manobo mythology) *Spirit of Lightning and Thunder (Teduray mythology)


Oceania

* Haikili (
Polynesian mythology Polynesian mythology encompasses the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia (a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian Triangle) together with those of the scattered cultures known as the Polyne ...
) *
TÄwhaki In MÄori mythology, TÄwhaki is a semi-supernatural being associated with lightning and thunder. Genealogy The genealogy of TÄwhaki varies somewhat in different accounts. In general, TÄwhaki is a grandson of Whaitiri, a cannibalistic goddess ...
(Polynesian mythology) * Kaha'i (Polynesian mythology) * Te Uira (Polynesian mythology) * Nan Sapwe ( Pohnpeian mythology)


Australia

* Mamaragan (
Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...
(
Kunwinjku The Kunwinjku (formerly written Gunwinggu) people are an Australian Aboriginal people, one of several groups within the Bininj people, who live around West Arnhem Land to the east of Darwin, Northern Territory. Kunwinjku people generally refer ...
) mythology)


New Zealand

*
Whaitiri Whaitiri is a female atua and personification of thunder in MÄori mythology. She is the grandmother of TÄwhaki and Karihi. Whaitiri is the granddaughter of Te Kanapu, son of Te Uira, both of whom are personified forms of lightning (Reed 19 ...
(
MÄori mythology MÄori mythology and MÄori traditions are two major categories into which the remote oral history of New Zealand's MÄori people, MÄori may be divided. MÄori myths concern tales of supernatural events relating to the origins of what was the ...
) *
TÄwhirimÄtea In MÄori mythology, TÄwhirimÄtea (or TÄwhiri) is the god of weather, including thunder and lightning, wind, clouds and storms. He is a son of Rangi and Papa, PapatÅ«Änuku (Earth goddess, earth mother) and Rangi and Papa, Ranginui (sky father ...
(MÄori mythology)


Americas

* Thunderbird (
Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...
and Huron mythology) *
Hé-no Hé-no is a thunder spirit of the Iroquois and Seneca people. He is also known as Heno, Hino, Hinu or Hinun. Hé-no lives in the cloud of the far west, and has rainbow as his wife, and is accompanied by the eagles Keneu and Oshadagea. Keneu is a ...
(Iroquois and
Seneca mythology Seneca mythology refers to the mythology of the Onödowáʼga: (Seneca people), one of the six nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) from the northeastern United States and Canada. Most Seneca stories were transmitted orally, and ...
) *
Aktzin Aktzin( Totonacan: Ā'ktzini'','' "He who makes Thunder") was the god of rain, thunder and lightning for the Totonac people of Mexico. Aktzin corresponds with Tláloc to the Aztecs and Chaac or Cabrakán to the Mayas, and is most commonly syncret ...
(Totonac mythology) *
Wakíŋyaŋ Wakíŋyaŋ is a Lakota language, Lakota word for "thunder". It also may be a portmanteau which associates "wahka" ("sacred") and "kinyan" ("wings"). The word is usually translated as "Thunder Spirits", "Thunder Beings," or "Thunderbird_(mytholog ...
( Sioux/Lakota mythology) *
Xolotl In Aztec mythology, Xolotl () was a god of fire and lightning. He was commonly depicted as a dog-headed man and was a soul-guide for the dead. He was also god of twins, monsters, death, misfortune, sickness, and deformities. Xolotl is the canin ...
and Tlaloc (
Aztec mythology Aztec mythology is the body or collection of myths of the Aztec civilization of Central Mexico. The Aztecs were a culture living in central Mexico and much of their mythology is similar to that of other Mesoamerican cultures. According to legend ...
) * Cocijo ( Zapotec mythology) *
Chaac Chaac (also spelled Chac or, in Classic Maya language, Classic Mayan, Chaahk ) is the name of the Maya civilization, Maya god of rain, thunder, and lightning. With his lightning axe, Chaac strikes the clouds, causing them to produce thunder and r ...
(
Maya mythology Maya mythology or Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles. The legends of the era have to be ...
) * Yopaat (Maya mythology) *
Chibchacum Chibchacum or Chichebachun is the rain and thunder god in the religion of the Muisca who inhabited the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in pre-Columbian times. Description In myth, when Chibchacum was angry, he sent heavy rains to the flatlands, cau ...
(
Muisca mythology Knowledge of Muisca mythology has come from Muisca scholars Javier Ocampo López, Pedro Simón, Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita, Juan de Castellanos and conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada who was the European making first contact with ...
) * Apocatequil (
Inca mythology Inca mythology of the Inca Empire was based on pre-Inca beliefs that can be found in the Huarochirí Manuscript, and in pre-Inca cultures including Chavín, Paracas, Moche, and the Nazca culture. The mythology informed and supported Inca re ...
) * Illapa (Inca mythology) * Tunupa (Aymara mythology) * Tupã ( Guarani mythology) * Kasogonagá (Toba mythology)


In literature

The Hindu God Indra was the chief deity and at his prime during the
Vedic period The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the e ...
, where he was considered to be the supreme God. Indra was initially recorded in the
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋचà¥, ऋचà¥, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sÅ«ktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
, the first of the religious scriptures that comprise the
Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
. Indra continued to play a prominent role throughout the evolution of Hinduism and played a pivotal role in the two Sanskrit epics that comprise the
Itihasa In Hinduism, Itihasa-Purana, also called the fifth Veda, refers to the traditional accounts of cosmogeny, myths, royal genealogies of the lunar dynasty and solar dynasty, and legendary past events, as narrated in the ''Itihasa'' (Mahabhara ...
s, appearing in both the
Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
and
Mahabharata The ''MahÄbhÄrata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, RÄmÄyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
. Although the importance of Indra has since been subsided in favor of other Gods in contemporary Hinduism, he is still venerated and worshipped. In
Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...
, the Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, was the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous, evolved from a designation of a place or person struck by lightning, ''enelysion, enelysios.''
Walter Burkert Walter Burkert (; 2 February 1931 – 11 March 2015) was a German scholar of Greek mythology and cult. A professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, he taught in the UK and the US. He has influenced generations of student ...
, ''Greek Religion'', 1985. p. 198. This could be a reference to
Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...
, the god of lightning, so "lightning-struck" could be saying that the person was blessed (struck) by Zeus (/lightning/fortune). Egyptologist
Jan Assmann Johann Christoph "Jan" Assmann (7 July 1938 – 19 February 2024) was a German Egyptologist, cultural historian, and religion scholar. Life and works Assmann studied Egyptology and classical archaeology in Munich, Heidelberg, Paris, and Göt ...
has also suggested that Greek ''Elysion'' may have instead been derived from the
Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
term '' ialu'' (older ''iaru''), meaning "reeds," with specific reference to the "
Reed fields Aaru (; , ), or the Field of Reeds (, ''sekhet-aaru''), is the name for heavenly paradise in Egyptian mythology. Ruled over by Osiris, an Ancient Egyptian deities, Egyptian god, the location has been described as the of the Nile Delta. Anci ...
" (Egyptian: '' sekhet iaru'' / ''ialu''), a paradisiacal land of plenty where the dead hoped to spend eternity.Assmann, Jan (2001). ''Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt''. Cornell University Press. p. 392


See also

*
Nature worship Nature worship, also called naturism or physiolatry, is any of a variety of religious, spiritual and devotional practices that focus on the worship of a nature deity, considered to be behind the natural phenomena visible throughout nature. A n ...
*
Lightning in religion The presence of lightning in religion is an historically existing and currently existing cultural aspect where-by the phenomenon of lightning has been or is viewed as part of a deity or a deity in and of itself, or as a component of a religious pr ...
*
Sky deity The sky often has important religious significance. Many polytheistic religions have deities associated with the sky. The daytime sky deities are typically distinct from the nighttime ones. Stith Thompson's ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'' ...
/
sky father In comparative mythology, sky father is a term for a recurring concept in polytheistic religions of a sky god who is addressed as a "father", often the father of a pantheon and is often either a reigning or former King of the Gods. The conc ...
*
Storm god A weather god or goddess, also frequently known as a storm god or goddess, is a deity in mythology associated with weather phenomena such as thunder, snow, lightning, rain, wind, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Should they only be in charge of ...
* Leishen (Chinese: "Thunder God") *
Raijin , also known as , , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder, and Storm, storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto and Buddhism, Buddhist religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions ...
(Japanese: "Thunder God") *
Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...
*
Donar's Oak Donar's Oak (also Thor's Oak or, via ''interpretatio romana'', Jove's Oak) was a sacred tree of the Germanic pagans located in an unclear location around what is now the region of Hesse, Germany. According to the 8th century ''Vita Bonifatii auct ...
*
Catatumbo lightning Catatumbo lightning () is an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs over and around Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, typically over a bog area formed where the Catatumbo River flows into the lake. means "House of Thunder" in Barí language, the language ...


References

{{List of mythological figures by region Comparative mythology
Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...